Courtney's Music Therapy for Bully Victims
Singer Campaigns for Victims to Speak Out by "Taking Over" Their Lives

When I first heard 19-year old Stephanie Courtney’s voice come out of my laptop singing her song, “I Need You,” I thought “WOW” this is a voice of an angel. I didn’t realize how right I was. Yes, she has a voice that maybe one day will be compared to some of the great women singers of all time. But what really makes her an angel, is what she is doing outside the recording studio. When Courtney was in junior high school, she went through a tough time with other kids who made fun of her because she had a skin condition called eczema. Well the eczema is gone, but not the feelings that haunted her during those impressionable years.

Today she has overcome those feelings through her music and friends. Unfortunately, unlike Courtney, there are many kids unable to fight off the bullies literally or figuratively. This as we know, leads to many things with the worst being bullycide. Courtney feels that she has been put on earth with a purpose; to empower young people with confidence, with the knowledge that they can love who and what they are and that their lives are indeed worth living.  

Courtney sits down with TNN, in part 1 of a two-part series, where she further defines her “purpose” and what fuels her mission and spirit:

Tell us about your musical beginnings.

I started at the age of 3 singing at my home church in Brooklyn. Then at 12 started venturing out all over the tri-state area; singing at places like the Cotton Club, the Sugar Bar, the Triad Theater among other places, including venues in Atlanta and Florida. At 13 I started writing my own songs and released a gospel CD.

And one of those singles “I Need You” is such a powerful song, and the fact that you wrote this at such a young age says a lot about you as a person. Where did the inspiration come from?

That song was the turning point in my bullying experience. As you know from my bio, I was bullied in elementary school and in junior high school because of my eczema, and that really offended me. Music was the way I expressed my feelings, that, and talking to my friends. I have a great foundation with my friends and can talk to them about anything. But music was my therapy; it gave me the opportunity to fight through the negativity. It gave me the chance to escape from all of the harshness from the kids and the teens that was surrounding my life. So when I wrote “I Need You,” I was at the breaking point.

Well the words are just so deep….

Well just like the words say, “I need you to love me.” I felt like I needed a higher being to let me know that everything was going to be fine. That I was going to get through it all that no one was going to look at your flaws, that you will be accepted for who you are. The song is about finding a higher power, and staying true to you.

As you go around speaking to the young people, how have you been able to send them this message, and how receptive have they been, especially the young women?

I explain to them that the first and most important thing is to love and believe in you. If you can do that, this is obviously not going to be the case 100% of the time, but I feel that if this is the case most of the time, others will see that, and will back off of you, The ones who are bullies, are that way because they pick on those who they see as having low self-esteem. The irony is that those that are bullies, a lot of times are that way because they themselves have a low self-esteem, so they try to take it out on another person. What they (the bullies) don’t see is that those that they bully are becoming those that think their lives are not worth living and is becoming prone to commit suicide. They are thinking that their lives are not valuable, and their lives aren’t worth anything. I tell them that they have to be true to who they are, that you have to love yourself.

That’s real sound advice that you’re giving the kids. Is there anything else you tell them?

Yes, just don’t fall prey to the negativity that surrounds you. You create your own path; know that you are a jewel. I feel like everyone has a purpose on earth, everyone has been blessed with life by God. Everyone has been put on earth for a reason, and until you fulfill that reason, you shouldn’t cut your life short.  This is what I tell these teens and young children when I go around to the schools.

Have you had anyone come to you and tell you that because of your message that they quit bullying?

I had one encounter, and it was shocking, because it was an adult. That person told me that back in the day things were different. The person went on to say “However, because I’m listening to your music, I have changed my views regarding my childhood, and I feel bad about what I did to kids when I was younger”. I was like WOW, that really meant a lot to me because most people wouldn’t have looked back on the past, and think about what they did when they were younger.

 Next month, Stephanie discusses where she wants to go with her music career. And we have a conversation with Stephanie’s parents as well to find out what makes this budding superstar so special.